Alen Korošec returned early from his vacation to sign for Botev, but now he has no regrets and is already knocking on the door of the Slovenian national team
Text: David Klemenc. Photo: Botev Plovdiv
Although he is only 22 years old, our guest has already experienced quite a lively football journey: from his debut in the top league, through some initial bureaucratic complications, to winning the cup and facing new bureaucratic issues. But as they say, the third time’s the charm. And this certainly applies to Alen Korošec, as he is currently thriving in the Bulgarian league, playing for the currently third-placed Botev with apparent ease.
When he transferred from Lendava to Tabor Sežana before the spring part of the 2021/22 season, Alen Korošec thought he had made a good move. But because Nafta disagreed with the transfer, they reported him, and after the first six matches played, they managed to get him suspended until the end of the season. “Nafta did not want to let me go, but I had already terminated my contract. Later, they reported something to the NZS, and it turned out that they submitted the paperwork in Sežana a few hours too late. So, I drew the short straw and spent a couple of months just training, without the right to play.”
When he thought something similarly tragicomic couldn’t happen to him again, after another season in Kras and relegation from the league, he went to the newly promoted top league team Rogaška, where he again felt the wrath of the NZS. “If we looked at every dot and comma, probably even Real Madrid wouldn’t get a license to play. Everywhere else, they give some leeway or turn a blind eye, but that wasn’t the case for Rogaška.”
Alen Korošec: “A bit of this and a bit of that, but nothing tragic”
“Far from being ideal, but again not so much at fault that they would literally erase us. I think it was because people at the club, from the management to coach Oskar Drobne, started publicly disparaging the organization and commenting too much on refereeing and similar issues. I think that decided our fate,” Alen Korošec reminisced about a rather turbulent period a few months after leaving Rogaška Slatina.
“The umbrella organization could at least appreciate the effort we all, from the offices to the pitch, put into the season. Yes, some things were lacking here and there, but nothing tragic. The pitch was also in poor condition, but we somewhat deliberately damaged it, if I can put it that way. To have an advantage over opponents and make their work more difficult (many complained about conditions in Rogaška Slatina, including Josip Iličić, editor’s note). All this is part of football folklore,” explained the promising central midfielder.
One of the worst things that happened to them, in his opinion and that of most teammates, was that “before the cup final, they made it clear that they were literally erasing us, as if they wanted to break us and almost force us to lose the final. But as all of Slovenia saw, they achieved the exact opposite.”
They felt that they were not treated equally after that infamous match against Olimpija, but Korošec still admits in the same breath that they are not entirely to blame. “No, no, there were also many things not right in our club… But I believe that when someone, like our people, is too loud in their criticism, they are always brought back to reality, so you can see who is a small village and who runs the competition.”
After the season ended, most players still had valid contracts, but it was known how the club management made it difficult for them to leave for abroad without compensation, even though there were talks about the club shutting down. Alen Korošec was not one of them. “I think we had four in the locker room who had an annex in their contracts that we would be free agents in case of relegation, which already made things easier for me from the start. As a team, we were quite solid, we didn’t surprise the whole world for nothing and won the cup, so most players managed quite well.”
Interrupted vacation to sign for Botev
Interestingly, his current employers came to watch him precisely at one of the matches when the team was led by his assistant Dominik Beršnjak due to the suspension of head coach Oskar Drobne. So, they later took both “in a package.” Today, Alen plays excellently in Botev’s first team, while Beršnjak is the coach of their B team, which competes in the second Bulgarian league. “Right after the cup final, I went on vacation, but just a few days later, my agent called with a serious offer. I didn’t think much, I knew it was too good to turn down, and also that if I hesitated, they would bring in another player, and I would be left empty-handed. So, I returned home the very next day and went to sign.”
Of course, the conversation couldn’t avoid comparisons between the Bulgarian and Slovenian leagues and the differences in lifestyle between the two countries. “The first – let’s say – five clubs in the Bulgarian league are at a higher level than ours. The bottom half is average, if not poor. If I were to compare, I would say that the best Bulgarian clubs can financially compare only to Celje. As for infrastructure, it’s sad to say, but I think it’s hard to find a country that has worse conditions than Slovenia. We have a completely new stadium that is not yet finished, but I think it will be soon. It’s very modern, nothing is lacking. We have six auxiliary pitches, a gym, a pool, and even a sauna, and we have seven coaches working with us.”
Even in Matjaž Kek’s mind?
The city of Plovdiv is located in central Bulgaria, about 150 kilometers southeast of the capital Sofia. “To be honest, I don’t go out much. Mostly, I’m at home since I’m fully occupied with studying – I study sports management. When I take a break from studying, I waste time on the PlayStation. I live close to the stadium, it’s about two to three minutes away by bike, which is my main mode of transport around Bulgaria. Occasionally, I go to a restaurant where prices are quite a bit cheaper than ours, but the quality is similar. What impresses me the most is the friendliness of the people,” revealed Alen Korošec, born in 2001, adding: “The league is good, I will say. It took me three months to start playing as I know how. At first, I was a bit lost, but I’m getting better and I’m glad I can contribute to the team. I feel appreciated. I also noticed that they are more relaxed about playing than we are. I think the Slovenians need a bit of that mentality as well. We tend to think too much, even if it doesn’t help us at times. It’s all about realizing how things actually are. They are a bit more aggressive, which makes a difference. I think it has to do with the general situation in Bulgaria; they have lived in hardship for too long.”
The conversation also turned to the Slovenian national team, with which he is clearly still emotionally attached. “To tell you the truth, I’d love to play for the national team. I’m in contact with some players and I see everything. We have a lot of talented individuals, and I believe we can make it to a tournament like the European Championship or World Cup again. We are all talking about it. I don’t see why we shouldn’t. I believe it will be possible one day, and I think if I keep performing like this, I will have a chance. I hope my name is already in the thoughts of Matjaž Kek.“
This text was automatically translated using AI.
Author: editorial Football Planet